The forty poems in this collection were originally written as heavy metal song lyrics. The selections encompass a variety of deeply personal themes such as love, alcoholism, fantasy and religion.

The poems are often dark in nature, expressing author Kirk C. Olson's emotions, such as sadness, rage, affection and fear. The poems purposely speak to those who need to make choices. Sobriety may be one of those choices as in the case of the poem "The Liquid Truth" I was breaking hearts / While emptying bottles / Too drunk to know / I was emptying my heart / And should have been breaking bottles/

Olson's Moral Compass addresses many of life's philosophical questions and the choices people make within their lifetime. This poetry collection reveals how one experiences life within extremes and there are those who have been to the extreme ends of those experiences.